RACE AND COMMUNITY

Race and my community



Race and my community

Introduction

Ethnicity and race has had a big influence on peoples' every day life choices. In some way or another, most people will be judged according to their color of their skin or their ethnic background. We live in a society full of different races and cultures affecting the way we interact with each other, as well as influencing our views on equality and differences among the many different races in our society. Often influential media groups and social standards shape our beliefs, also affecting how we interact with cultures different from our own, and how various groups interact with each other. Race and ethnicity may be defined as a type of grouping or classification based on a persons origin of birth and includes their racial appearance, language, religion and culture. Ethnicity can be defined as a social construction that indicates identification with a particular group who share common cultural traits, such as language, religion and traditions.

O'Donnell, Texas

For the past 10 years I have lived in a small West Texas Town known as O'Donnell, TX, with a population of 974. O'Donnell is located in Lynn County about 42.5 miles South of Lubbock Texas. According to IDcide Information website (www.idcide.com), through the 90's O'Donnell's population declined by about 8% and it is estimated that in the first five years of 2000 the population has declined another 4%.

According to City-Data website (www.city-data.com), the population by Race in O'Donnell is substantially different from that of the new community my family now resides in. 65.3% being Hispanic, 33.2% being Caucasian, and an even smaller percentage being African American or other. As you can see the racial diversity was primarily Caucasian and Hispanic, we had one African American family and one Hawaiian Family living in our small community.

Ten months ago, due to a plant closure, our family was forced to relocate to the South West Houston area, Missouri City, Texas. Missouri City has a population of 69,941 and is located about 14.5 miles SW of Houston. In the 1990's Missouri City's population grew 46% and 32% more during the first five years of 2000(www.census.gov). Missouri City has a very different racial makeup consisting of 44% Caucasian, 38% African American, 11% Asian and only 7% other (Hispanic) (quickfacts.census.gov).

Because we are so new to Missouri City and the fact that we will always consider O'Donnell “home” I am going to do my autobiographical research paper on the influences of race as it relates to my community of O'Donnell.

Community's Physical Appearance

Many members of O'Donnell do look like in me in that so many are white however we still have so many differences. Several people dress similar and act similar; many are very active in the community and the school. Coming from a small town everyone knows everyone else; we all know each others children and come together as a big family. Some differences would be based on financial status and possessions. As with any community there are some who are more ...